At-home standalone chest exercises are great for their convenience and cost-effectiveness (they can be done at no monetary cost if equipment isn’t involved), but doing only one exercise over any length of time might only result in incomplete gains.
On the other hand, following a periodized plan where your home workouts focus solely on the chest using a combination of exercises spread out over a reasonable length of time—can be up to a year—will ensure that you are hitting the chest from all angles and thus achieve chest hypertrophy the right way.
But a Renaissance periodization (RP) at-home chest workout takes this whole game a notch higher. Developed by Dr. Mike Israetel, an exercise scientist and sport physiologist, RP training programs are evidence-based fitness routines that draw on scientific principles of muscle gain and maintenance to help you structure your chest hypertrophy workouts to achieve optimal results.
A carefully crafted RP fitness routine follows chest exercise science and incorporates such elements as progressive overload, training volume landmarks, and periodization. It also places the emphasis on finding the right amount of volume, intensity, and frequency for each individual.
The aim is to understand the optimal workload for your unique needs and progressively challenge your body, without risking overtraining or injury.
In this article, you will learn the RP recommended for your at-home chest exercises, get a sample RP plan, and understand how to set up your own RP at-home chest workout plan.
Got set? Let’s dive in.
Renaissance Periodization (RP) Recommended Exercises for your At-Home Chest Workout
This section contains a list of 15 RP-recommended exercises that you can fit into your workout plan. Each chest exercise has an explanatory video from the YouTube channel of the Renaissance periodization.
1. Medium Grip Push-Up
2. Flat dumbbell bench press
3. Flat dumbbell flye
4. Flat dumbbell press flye
5. Deficit push-ups
6. Incline dumbbell press flye
7. Cambered bar bench press
8. Medium grip bench press
9. Push-up
10. Narrow push-up
11. Standing chest fly with resistance band
12. Weighted push-ups
13. Chest dips
14. Incline hex press
15. Plate squeeze press
Sample renaissance periodization plan for chest workouts at home
Remember not to skip warmup before embarking on this exercise plan, whether in its modified or unmodified form or in any exercise plan you draw for yourself.
The aim is to start your training program at your MEV then progress volume through MAV until you hit your MRV and need to deload. By the way, MEV, MAV, and MRV are volume training landmarks. (More on that after the sample plan)
Mesocycle 1 (3-12 weeks; same for the other mesocycles)
WEEKS (Microcycles)0 to 4—Accumulation phase
Monday
Push-ups: 2 sets of 8-12 reps each;
Chest dips: 2 sets of 8-12 reps each;
Standing chest fly with resistance dip: 2 sets of 5 reps each.
Wednesday
Swap the regular push-up for the deficit variant and proceed with the rest of Monday’s routine.
Friday
- Session 1
Narrow push-ups: 2 sets of 10-12 reps each.
Chest dips: 2 sets of 8-12 reps.
Standing chest fly with resistance bands: 2 sets of 5 reps each.
- Session 2
Incline dumbbell chest flys: Use light dumbbells for two sets of 10-15 reps each.
WEEKS (Microcycles) 5-8
Monday
Dumbbell pullover: 4 sets of 5-10 reps each
Push-ups: 2 sets of 8-12 reps each;
Chest dips: 2 sets of 8-12 reps each;
Standing chest fly with resistance dip: 2 sets of 5 reps each.
Wednesday
- Session 1
Dumbbell pullover: 2 sets of 10-15 reps each
Push-ups: 2 sets of 8-12 reps each;
Chest dips: 2 sets of 8-12 reps each;
Standing chest fly with resistance dip: 2 sets of 5 reps each
- Session 2
Deficit push-ups: 2 sets of 10-15 reps
Friday
Repeat session one on Wednesday and add an incline hex press before deficit push-ups in session two of the same day. Do two sets of 10-15 reps of the incline hex press.
Deloading phase (One week)
One session only of push-ups: 2 sets of 8-12 reps for each workout day.
Mesocycle 2
WEEKS (Microcycles) 3-12—Accumulation phase
Monday
- Session 1
Barbell bench press: 4 sets of 5-10 reps
Push-ups: 2 sets of 8-12 reps each;
Chest dips: 2 sets of 8-12 reps each;
Standing chest fly with resistance dip: 2 sets of 5 reps each
- Session 2
Dumbbell pullover: 2 sets of 10 reps each
Medium grip push-ups: 2 sets of 10 reps each
Wednesday
- Session 1
Barbell bench press: 2 sets of 10-15 reps
Push-ups: 2 sets of 8-12 reps each;
Chest dips: 2 sets of 8-12 reps each;
Standing chest fly with resistance dip: 2 sets of 5 reps each
- Session 2
Dumbbell pullover: 2 sets of 10 reps each
Plate squeeze press: 2 sets of 5-10 reps
Incline dumbbell bench press: same sets and reps as above.
Friday
Dumbbell chest flys: 2 sets of 10-15 reps each.
Dumbbell pullover: same sets and reps as above.
Push-ups: 2 sets of 8-12 reps each.
Deloading phase (1 week)
One session only of standing chest fly with resistance bands: 2 sets of 15 reps.
Mesocycle 3
WEEKS (Microcycles) 3-12; Accumulation phase
Monday
- Session 1
Dumbbell pullover: 2 sets of 10 reps each.
Plate squeeze press: 2 sets of 5-10 reps.
Incline dumbbell bench press: same sets and reps as above.
- Session 2
Incline dumbbell press flye: 2 sets of 10-15 reps each.
Cambered bar bench press: 2 sets of 10-15 reps each.
Weighted push-ups: 2 sets of 10-15 reps each.
Tuesday
- Session 1
Dumbbell pullover: 2 sets of 10 reps each.
Cambered bar bench press: 2 sets of 10-15 reps each.
Flat dumbbell bench press: 2 sets of 10 reps each.
- Session 2
Standing chest fly with resistance dip: 2 sets of 10-20 reps each.
Plate squeeze press: 2 sets of 5-10 reps each.
Wednesday
Barbell Incline Presses 2 sets of 5-10
Weighted push-ups: 10-15 reps
Chest dips: 10-15 reps
Friday
Repeat Monday’s routine
Deloading phase (1 week)
Dumbbell pullover: 2 sets of 10 reps each.
Plate squeeze press: 2 sets of 5-10 reps
Mesocycle 4
WEEKS (Microcycles) 3-12; Accumulation phase
Monday
Flat dumbbell bench press: 2 sets of 5-10 reps
Incline dumbbell press flye: 2 sets of 5-10 reps
Tuesday
Deficit push-ups: 2 sets of 10-20 reps
Chest dips: 2 sets of 10 reps
Incline dumbbell press flye: 8-12 reps
Flat dumbbell flye: 2 sets of 5-10 reps
Wednesday
Incline hex press: 8-12 reps
Cambered bar bench press: 10-15 reps
Weighted push-ups: 10-20 reps
Standing chest fly with resistance band: 10-20 reps
Friday
Plate squeeze press: 5-10 reps
Push-ups: 20-30 reps
Flat dumbbell chest fly: 10-15 reps
Incline hex press: 5-10
Cambered bar bench press: 10-15 reps
Deloading phase (1 week)
Flat dumbbell bench press: 2 sets of 15-20 reps
Notable terms in Renaissance periodization
Microcycle
Refers to a week of training
Mesocycle
A series of weeks of training. It can be anywhere from 3 to 12 weeks.
Macrocycle
The entire period of your Renaissance Periodization training program. It combines between 1 to 4 mesocycles of training and can span a year or longer.
Dr. Mike Israetel training volume landmarks
Training volume landmarks are movement/dynamic targets that regulate how many sets and reps you should hit in your chest hypertrophy training workouts to maximize progress.
These targets should be adjusted continuously as need be to align with your needs and the gains in muscle you have accrued over time.
By using Dr. Mike Israetel training volume landmarks as a starting point and finding your individual landmarks, you will avoid training too little or over working yourself.
MV (Minimum volume): This is the training volume (number of sets of reps) needed to maintain your current muscle volume. Your MV is zero sets if you have never trained before. That also means that you must train to keep the muscle you have gained from past training sessions.
Nevertheless, whether you are a beginner in training or at an advanced level, your MV will be much lower than the amount of training you need to increase your chest muscle mass.
MEV (Minimum Effective Volume): This is the amount of training that actually grows your muscles. Anything less is just to maintain the muscles you already have or have acquired from your training experience.
MRV (Maximum Recoverable Volume):
Knowledge of this volume landmark is important as it will stop you from training beyond the point your body can recover from. Training harder than your body can handle will make any gains in muscle thwarted by inadequate recovery.
Hence, your MRV is the maximum number of sets you can stretch your body to and still recover fully enough to be ready for your next training sessions.
NOTE: MEV tells you the minimum volume you need to grow your chest muscles, and MRV is the maximum volume you need for that.
MAV (Maximum Adaptive Volume)
This is the range of chest training volumes in which you get the most gains in chest muscle mass.
Your MAV constantly changes with every microcycle and mesocycle of training because your body eventually adapts to the intensity of training you used before, so you will need to overload the system or increase the load in order to see further muscle growth.
Read this article by Renaissance Periodization expert Dr Michael Israetel to learn more about how to find out your MV, MEV, MAV, and MRV.
Accumulation phase
The major part of a mesocycle where your aim is to increase the volume (number of sets and reps) and keep the intensity (e.g., amount of weight lifted as a percentage of 1RPM) low to moderate.
In other words, you start the mesocycle with a high volume and low intensity and end with a low volume and high intensity.
Deloading phase
In this phase (usually lasting one week), you lower the intensity and volume of your training in order to let your body take a break from the fatigue of the preceding heavy training sessions.
The deloading phase takes place at the end of every mesocycle to prepare you for the next one.
How to set up a Renaissance periodization at-home chest workout plan
A periodized exercise plan means that you will go way beyond just doing one workout every day for as long as, well, forever. Rather, it involves tackling a select combination of exercises and increasing their intensity or volume in phases.
Periodization splits your exercise program into the following phases: microcycle, mesocycle, and macrocycle.
When chest training with a periodized plan, make sure to include horizontal, incline, and isolation movements in any week of your training. Isolation exercises, in particular, stretch the chest under load, which in turn stimulates muscle growth.
Here are the representatives of each category:
- Horizontal
Push-ups and all variations
Flat bar bench press
Flat dumbbell bench press
Dumbbell chest fly
Chest dips
- Incline
Incline hex press
Incline dumbbell press
Incline bar bench press
- IsolationÂ
Chest dip
Deficit push-up
Dumbbell chest fly
Dumbbell Pullover
To make sure that you are hitting the chest from all angles, incorporate up to three different chest exercises in a training session, and over the course of a week, aim for up to five different exercise types or do lighter versions of the same workouts.
Don’t try to attempt all the possible types of chest workouts by switching to a different exercise every week of a mesocycle. It takes time to start seeing results from a particular type of training; also, some workout types might be too hard for you if you’ve not built strength with easier ones, so stick with the same exercises in each week of a particular mesocycle.
When it’s time to start adding new exercises to a new mesocycle, add them in the lighter ranges (i.e., sets of 10-20 reps) instead of the heavier ones (sets of 5-10 reps) for reasons that are well explained in this article by Dr. Mike, the founder of Renaissance periodization.
The optimum exercise range for you in terms of sets of reps is the one that is sustainable in the long term and still impacts your chest muscles enough for noticeable growth. Generally speaking, sets of 5-10 reps, 8-12 reps, and 10-15 reps are great in this regard, but you can try other ranges to find your sweet spot.
That said, dumbbell flyes aren’t something you’d want to train with for 5-10 reps. Instead, choose dumbbells that you can push for 10-20 reps to failure to reap their benefits while minimizing the risk of injury.
Now, it’s wise to leave a day or two between your chest training workouts for your muscles to recover from the micro-injuries (inevitably) sustained from the last training session, but what’s a reasonable way to minimize the risk of expanding those micro-tears into a crippling injury from your subsequent sessions for the remainder of the week?
In other words, do you train the lighter ranges first before the heavier ones in your weekly workout sessions?
There are no hard and fast rules here and you should stick with what works for you, but training the heavier ranges first (e.g., sets of 5-10 reps) on the first session of the week before the lighter ranges (10-20) can actually be much safer than going the other way round.
It boils down to the fact that the lighter ranges will require less force to perform and are less likely to expand any micro-tears into a bigger injury. So get the sets of 5-10 reps out of the way, rest for a day or two, and you should have little, if any, problem with the 10-20 sets.
The next training sessions where you are going with the lighter ranges could also use another trick. If the last training session mostly focused on the clavicular head of your pectoral muscles, then for your next workouts, try exercises that target the sternal head of your pecs.
Wrapping Up
RP at-home chest hypertrophy workouts are for those who are really serious about gaining bigger and stronger chest muscles.
In the end though, all the self-discipline involved pays off huge dividends as you progressively work your chest to an attractive shape that makes your shirts fit nicely on you.
The beauty of RP regimens is that there is one for any fitness level from beginner to expert. Besides, you can rest assured that each training session is in itself a complete workout that doesn’t skip any part of your chest whether the upper chest or the lower one and any part in between.
